The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors for establishing electrically conductive pathways between devices.
Some known electrical connectors have multiple pairs of electrical contacts arranged in pairs to convey differential signals. The transmission of differential signals can be degraded due to electromagnetic interference, or cross-talk, that couples to a corresponding contact pair from one or more adjacent pairs of the electrical contacts.
One way to reduce the deleterious effects of cross-talk is to increase the spacing between contact pairs, but this strategy may not be available for connectors with a pre-defined component sizes and designated contact densities. For example, although packing fewer electrical contacts in an electrical connector may allow for improved signal transmission (e.g., reduced cross-talk) due to increased isolation between the contacts, it may not be desirable or permissible to reduce the contact density, as there is a general trend towards increasing contact density in connectors.
Some known connectors attempt to shield the electrical contacts against cross-talk by installing electrically conductive shield members or layers between adjacent contact pairs. The shielding may increase the complexity and cost of the connectors by adding additional parts and assembly steps.
A need remains for an electrical connector with multiple pairs of electrical contacts that meets signal transmission performance requirements without complex and costly shielding between the pairs.